Monday, November 9, 2009

It's Time to Talk Seriously About These Damn Ten Per Centers

When I read a few months ago that the opposition parties were getting so tired of the Reform Conservatives abusing tax money to send out ten per centers, they started fighting back by sending out their own, I was disappointed. This was not the way to go.

It only allowed the offenders to state that the other parties were doing it. Not that they copied us and are now just as crooked.

Well, it turns out that the Ref-Cons spent more than any other parties on this nonsense and Rick Norlock blew the bank.

If they provided important information it would be different, but they are filled with sheer nonsense. I've had seven on behalf of my local Reform candidate Brian Abrams, and not one was relevant to the concerns of Kingston. Not a single one. I had never even seen these things until Stephen Harper came to power.

The price tag for sending flyers from MPs to homes across the country has soared during the past couple of years with Conservatives outstripping MPs from all other parties. In some cases, Conservative MPs are spending more than 500% more on flyers than they did just two years ago. Moreover, it risks costing taxpayers even more in the future.

After trying to curb the practice of Conservative MPs sending often partisan flyers into other MPs' ridings, the Liberals have recently joined in the printing spree. An analysis by Sun Media of spending figures tabled in the House of Commons this week for the year ended on March 31 shows that the cost to taxpayers for MPs printing has soared to $10 million in 2008/09 compared to $5.9 million in 2005 ....

NORTHUMBERLAND — Local MP Rick Norlock's high-flying spending on flyers to constituents brings the riding the dubious distinction of being the top spending riding in Canada - particularly during a downturn in the economy, say other local political party candidates.

"It's sad that the national exposure for the riding of Northumberland/Quine West comes from something that is shameful," says local federal riding Liberal candidate Kim Rudd. "Given our recession, how many families would benefit from this $80,000 (plus)…It's an insane amount of money given people are losing their jobs and some can't feed their families."